We're all well aware of the overall trends of fan taste and that his 80-88 period is generally considered his peak. Some would extend this period through 95 or 96. His music since has met with a variety of feelings- most albums released since Lovesexy are heavily disputed in terms of quality, and it is impossible to find a reasonable concensus. As such, I'm curious to see how people would rank Prince's albums from the 2000s.

So, have at it. Here are the official full-length albums. I'm excluding C-Note as it is more of an EP.

2001: The Rainbow Children
2002: One Nite Alone
2003: Xpectation
2003: NEWS
2004: The Chocolate Invasion
2004: Slaughterhouse
2004: Musicology
2006: 3121
2007: Planet Earth
[Edited 7/18/07 3:00am]

It's a bit early to rank Planet Earth, but here is my assessment:

1. 3121- I honestly enjoy all the songs and feel it accomplishes what Musicology attempted in conjuring the diversity of the vintage Prince sound. 9/10

2. One Nite Alone- I really enjoy this soft, subdued effort. It has no delusions of grandeur and stands alone as a wonderfully cohesive piece. 9/10

3. Planet Earth- It has as many highs as any album of the decade for me. Although it is dragged down a little by a few clunkers, it's very exciting to me. 8.5/10

4. Musicology- It hasn't aged very well for me. Most of the songs are merely pleasant, but it accomplished its goal of launching Prince back into the mainstream. 7.5/10

5. The Rainbow Children- This is definitely his most artistic and boldest exercise of the decade. The highs are glorious ("Last December", "The Everlasting Now", "Digital Garden", "The Sensual Everafter"), but the album at the whole resembles a throbbing headache, and the dogma drags it down a bit. Plus, it contains my very least favorite Prince song ever- "Mellow". 7/10

6. NEWS- Like One Nite Alone, it stands as a nice little cohesive exercise, this time opting for jazz-fusion. I love that Prince releases stuff like this, but my tastes are unfortunately a bit too conventional for this to stand up to many repeated listenings. 6.5/10

7. (tie) Slaughterhouse and The Chocolate Invasion- These albums tie up a lot of loose ends with the NPGMC tracks, but they sound like collections rather than albums. I like many of the songs, but the don't really gain any identity by inclusion on the albums, and therefore work better for me when considered as individual songs. 5.5/10

9. Xpectation- I appreciate that Prince was trying to be generous with the NPGMC stuff, but I could have seriously lived without ever hearing this. Moreover, the best "X" track of all in "Xenophobia" was left off. Prince takes Kamasutra even further into the elevator. 2/10

Planet Earth (9/10) (Without Lion of Judah would b 10/10)
Musicology/One Nite Alone (8/10)
The Rainbow Children (7,5/10)
3121 (6,5/10)
News (6/10)
Xpectation/Slaughterhouse/Chocolate invasion (3/10)

2001: The Rainbow Children : 8/10, a masterpiece from a musical point of view; but the lyrics, humm
2002: One Nite Alone : 7,5/10 interesting, heartfelt and strong, I love it!
2003: Xpectation : 5'5/10, maybe the "best" of his Internet albums
2003: NEWS : 4/10 the albums gets unlistenable after the first 5 minutes.
2004: The Chocolate Invasion : 4/10, funny, but forgettable
2004: Slaughterhouse : 3/10 wtf?
2004: Musicology : 7/10 a decent "comeback" to the mainstream market, but many of the tracks just don't catch fire.
2006: 3121 : 8,5 his best album in a very loooong time, I just love the production and the song order.
2007: Planet Earth: 8, very strong, rocky prodcution, but the album lacks a potential single or an instant classic.
[Edited 7/18/07 3:56am]

The Rainbow Children-6/10, im not really in2 jazz music
ONA-3/10, only like "Avalanche, and Here on Earth
Musicology-7/10,pretty good album
3121-10/10!!!i can listen 2 this album withought skipping a song
Planet Earth-8/10,more like musicology, sadly

01. the rainbow children (10/10)
02. one nite alone (8.5/10)
03. the chocolate invasion (8.0/10)
04. planet earth (7.5/10)
05. 3121 (7.0/10)
06. Xpectation (7.0/10)
07. News (7.0/10)
08. Slaughterhouse (6.5/10)
09. Musicology (3.0/10)

2001: The Rainbow Children 10/10
2002: One Nite Alone 7.5/10
2002: One Nite Alone...Live! 8/10
2003: Xpectation 7/10
2003: C-Note 6.5/10
2003: NEWS 8/10
2004: The Chocolate Invasion 7/10
2004: Slaughterhouse 7/10
2004: Musicology 7/10
2006: 3121 8/10
2007: Planet Earth 9/10

2001: The Rainbow Children ****
2002: One Nite Alone ****
2003: Xpectation ***
2003: NEWS *****
2004: The Chocolate Invasion **
2004: Slaughterhouse *
2004: Musicology **
2006: 3121 *
2007: Planet Earth ***

01. the rainbow children (10/10)
02. one nite alone (9/10)
03. the chocolate invasion (6/10)
04. planet earth (9/10) (it was only 7/10 at first, but a proper grower)
05. 3121 (8/10)
06. Xpectation (6/10)
07. News (7/10)
08. Slaughterhouse (6/10)
09. Musicology (7/10)

I'm sure for most, the ratings change on a weekly basis...

The Rainbow Children - 7/10 (I do not listen to this enough)

One Nite Alone - 10/10 (Great live performances)

Planet Earth - 5.5/10 (It's not bad & it's not all good. My rating might change the more i hear it though.)

3121 - 9/10 (To me it stands out as the better than the others he has released in 2000. I am still playing this a lot.)

Musicology - 8/10 (Another good one i still play a lot.)

News - 1/10 ( I am not feeling the jazz thing he was doing with this.)

The Chocolate Invasion, Xpectation, & Slaughterhouse (I do not have or listened to... therefore i cannot rate them.)

2001: The Rainbow Children (10/10)
2002: One Nite Alone (7/10)
2003: Xpectation (6/10)
2003: NEWS (6/10)
2004: The Chocolate Invasion (5.5/10)
2004: Slaughterhouse (4/10)
2004: Musicology (7/10)
2006: 3121 (7.5/10)
2007: Planet Earth (7.5/10)

2001: The Rainbow Children 9.5/10
2002: One Nite Alone 9/10
2003: Xpectation 7/10
2003: NEWS 7/10
2004: The Chocolate Invasion 9/10
2004: Slaughterhouse 9/10
2004: Musicology 8.5/10
2006: 3121 9/10
2007: Planet Earth 9.5/10

A give them all a "Bleh" ranking. Not terrible, but not very interesting or worth feeling passionately about either way.

Moonbeam said:

1. 3121
2. Planet Earth
3. Musicology
4. The Rainbow children
5. One nite alone





6. News

Just listening to Planet Earth, so no rank for that yet.

1) 3121
2) Musicology
3) Everything else

1 - The Rainbow Children
2 - One Nite Alone - Live!
3 - Planet Earth
4 - 3121
5 - NEWS
6 - Musicology
7 - Xpectation

Moonbeam said:

***I have not lived with Planet Earth long enough to rank it yet***

1.3121

if for nothing else, for the thumping funk of the title track (even better live) and for "Black Sweat". That being said this album has everything I like about Prince. Sure, the album is a pop record for the masses, but it is the most diverse (think about how many genres are jammed into this record) pop album of 2006 to come from just one guy. To me this album is like Diamonds and Pearls without Tony M.

2. Musicology

Like it's followup, 3121, this album is Prince as a pop artist. It's got the usual myriad of styles and a bit of something for everyone. This is basically Prince being Prince. No overarching issues--just a damn good album without the clutter.

3.The Rainbow Children.

Without a doubt, this Prince's most ambitious album of this decade. It's Prince's version of a spiritual funkrock opera. I don't get hung up on the lyrics like some--hey Prince is always talkin' something kooky. Furthermore, he's always been big on Jesus. What knocks this album down a peg for me is the Darth Vader voice ( I know it's ironic considering my username). However, the voice spoils the flow of the story and the groove.

4. One Nite Alone

Like The Truth this album is severely underrated. It's not a personal favorite of mine, I need a few uptempo tracks, however this stripped down album truly displays Prince's genius. It's just his voice, his playing, his melodies and it is insane how good he is.

5&6. Chocolate Invasion/Slaughterhouse

I consider this a double album and I consider it a collection of b-sides & unreleased songs. There are some real standout tracks on here that anyone could like. However, some of this is surely most interesting for Prince fans. Some good grooves, but altogether not awe inspiring.

7. NEWS

It's like watching a movie with no dialog. Sure, it's interesting and it's Prince, but this kind of artistry would be more appreciated live. I am just not a good enough listener to give this album any kind of praise or say anything negative about it. I like Prince albums with his voice/lyrics.



8. Expectation

See above.


[Edited 7/18/07 14:44pm]

Like Skywalker, I can't rate Planet Earth yet since I haven't listened to it enough yet...but so far its ranking close to the top.

1, Rainbow Children. Even with the overly JW tones I totally dig this CD. The music is just so cool and Everlasting Now and Last December are 2 of my all time fave songs. It was SO refreshing after the disaster that was Rave. The thing is it STILL sounds fresh.

2, Chocolate Invasion/Slaughterhouse. LOVE Supercute. Wish it was a single. LOVE the original version of the Dance, Judas Smile, Sex Me, and U Make My Sunshine. Slaughterhouse is cool too. My girlfriend who is NOT a Prince fan will tolerate these. I think this is why I rate it so high. Its nice when she's not ripping on my shit and we can live in musical harmony. (BTW, she has actually been saying nice things about Planet Earth...however, she said the samething about many Prince albums before I played them OUT.)

3, Musicology. Screw u haters...this is a great album.

4, 3121. Almost as good as Musicology but I seriously don't like Beautiful, Blessed (or whatever its called) and Incense and Candles. Also that high pitch dog whistle thing in Black Sweat is incredibly annoying.

5, One Night Alone...LIVE! Love the actual show...was disappointed in the Its Aint Over CD...I have heard MUCH better aftershows from the man. When will the guy get his shit together and release Small Club?

6, NEWS. Cool and different. Don't listen to it very much, but when I do I always enjoy it.

7, One Night Alone (piano). Sorry just can't get into it.

Wonderwall said:

I Beautiful Loved and Blessed and Incense and Candles, Love Black Sweat too, but agree that that high pitched sound is a bit annoying

Planet Earth: 8.5 / 10. Mostly a great effort, with FutureBabyMama, Mr. Goodnight, the title track, and Somewhere Here on Earth all registering as the strongest songs he's done in a long, long time. Love the production, the sequencing, and the more cohesive sound.

Musicology: 7.0 / 10. The renewed focus on tight pop songcraft is a welcome change after the craziness of TRC, and to be sure, there are some nifty little tunes here - Unfortunately, there are plenty of total snoozers aswell. But when it's good, it's good. When it's bad, it's just boring.

3121: 6.0 / 10. Same issue as Musicology, only this time it sounds like Prince covering Prince - Which makes it an oddly distancing listen to these ears. Still, there are a couple of strong tracks (3121, Te Amo Corazon, The Dance, Lolita), but there's more mediocre-to-bad material that weighs it down.

The Rainbow Children: 5.5 / 10. While I respect the musicianship, and some of the songs are positively wonderful - I have to judge what's here over "how I would've edited this." That said, the narration is awful, some songs are far too overt JW valentines, and the lounginess gets old after a while.

I haven't heard Planet Earth in it's entirety yet, so I won't include that.


1.The Rainbow Children:9.5/10
2.3121:8.5/10
3.Musicology:7.5/10
4.Xpectation:7.5/10
5.N.E.W.S.:7.5/10
6.One Nite Alone:6.0/10
[Edited 7/19/07 0:52am]

Ultimate Prince 10/10
The Very Best Of Prince 8/10
Planet Earth 7/10
Musicology 7/10
One Nite Alone 6/10
One Nite Alone... Live! 6/10
Xpectation 6/10
3121 6/10
Slaughterhouse 5/10
The Rainbow Children 5/10
NEWS 5/10
The Chocolate Invasion 5/10

Never heard Rave In2 The Joy Fantastic, so I can't comment on that one - and it was released in the noughties.

been very dissappointed this decade..

Planet Earth 6.5/10
3121 5/10
Musicology 7/10
One Nite Alone 5/10
One Nite Alone... Live! 4/10
Xpectation 3/10
Slaughterhouse 5/10
The Rainbow Children 1/10
NEWS 0/10
The Chocolate Invasion 3/10
Ultimate Prince 10/10
The Very Best Of Prince 7/10

2001: The Rainbow Children
2006: 3121
2007: Planet Earth
2004: The Chocolate Invasion
2004: Slaughterhouse
2004: Musicology
2003: NEWS
2002: One Nite Alone
2003: C-Note
2003: Xpectation
[Edited 7/19/07 1:34am]

2001: The Rainbow Children I know it's rated on here, but I just don't like it. For me, just because it's not commercial, doesn't mean it's good. I find it one of the hardest Prince albums to sit through. (2)

2002: One Nite Alone Reminded me of an Art Garfunkel album, but without the curly blonde hair. Enjoyed parts, but as a full album I lose interest by midway point. (4)

2003: Xpectation If this had been released by anyone else, I'd have had it on ebay for 0.99 or used it as a coffee mat (2)

2003: NEWS Oh dear, it gets worse. (1)

2004: The Chocolate Invasion An album not often rated very highly on here, but I MUCH prefer it to any of the above. (5.5)

2004: Slaughterhouse I'm giving this a 5 because I think it sits somewhere between the good and the bad of this decade so far. (5)

2004: Musicology In parts, I liked this a lot. (7)

2006: 3121 Same as above, but did it slightly more for me, hard to split the two (7.5)

2007: Planet Earth The third of the "Prince returns to form" trilogy, and the best in my book. I rated the songs individually on the track threads a few days ago after first buying the album/snoozespaper, and the album averaged out at 7.8/ 10 overall. Having listened to it many times since then, and scoring it alongside the others on this list.... (8.5)

Of course this is all so subjective isn't it? I know RC gets a lot of praise on here, and that so many post threads about being let down by the recent, more commercial albums, longing for the "ground breaking" albums of yesteryear. All I want nowadays from a Prince album is to enjoy it for what it is. I expect nothing,try not to fall into the oh so easy trap of comparing each new release with the 80-88 period that I too hold dear, and hope for the best.

What I think is great is that even in a decade where he's being lambasted by some for the quality of his output, he can still release a series of albums that splits his fanbase. I imagine some will turn my scores on their heads and rate RC/ NEWS at the top and PE/ 3121 at the bottom. I think that's the great thing about Prince and long may it continue.

Man...I had to number crunch and go all scientific to do this because I couldn't just lay them down in order. I posted a new thread with how I came up with these numbers, but here are my results in order:

1. PLANET EARTH (average track, 4.0/5.0) I was a little nervous about putting an album that's not even out yet at the top of the list, but maybe it belongs there? Time will tell.
2. 3121 (average track, 3.4)
3. THE CHOCOLATE INVASION (average track, 3.2) This one surprised me when I did the math. I don't listen to it THAT much, but I ranked 4 of the 10 tracks at a 4 or 5.
4. MUSICOLOGY (average track, 3.0)
5. ONE NITE ALONE (average track, 2.9)
6. THE RAINBOW CHILDREN (average track, 2.64) I thought this would be a little higher for me. I know some of you love this disc and others don't like it at all. I've always been in the middle. My individual track scores are the most varied here. Most tracks either got a 1 or a 4/5. There's no accounting for my dislike for the dogma and that awful voice, though. So maybe this is, subconsciously, where I'd really put it.
7. XPECTATION (average track, 2.22) I think this is the only one of Prince's albums where I rated any instrumental track a 5.
8. THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE (average track 2.0) No surprise. No 5s for me here, and only 1 4.
9. N.E.W.S. (average track, 1.5) I figured. Only four tracks and I gave 2 1s and 2 2s. I just don't get into this and feel that Xpectation has better instrumentals. I appreciate it but don't get into it.

More useless trivia:
There are 81 tracks combined from these nine albums. I gave out 18 5s, 13 4s, 20 3s, 19 2s and 21 1s. This is kind of a neat way to use numbers to assess how you personally feel about his output per decade!

Keith/Kacey

prettylies said:

so true! that's why we can't all agree on a song or an album, because
so many people became fans of prince for so many different reasons

Moonbeam said:

what about that one "high" or something? i kinda liked that one